Joshua BowesMoscow Attack: The Popularisation of Far-Right Conspiracy Theories in Mainstream Media
Introduction In the immediate aftermath of the 22 March attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, social media was replete with…
Rachel KowertThe Radicalisation of Digital Playgrounds: The Need for Multistakeholder Dialogue
Introduction The potential nexus between gaming and radicalisation into extremism has become a hot topic for scholars, tech companies, policymakers,…
Osama AhmadUnveiling Terrorist Influence: The Case of Pakistan’s 2024 General Elections
Introduction Elections in fragile democracies are often the targets of terrorist exploitation. Notably, general elections that took place in Pakistan…
Francis OkpalekeEyes in the Sky: The Innovation Dilemma of Drone Proliferation among Violent Non-State Actors in the Sahel
Introduction The Sahel, with its vast geographical expanse and porous borders, has become a hub for violent non-state actors (VNSAs),…
Saddiq BashaThe Creeping Influence of the Extreme Right’s Meme Subculture in Southeast Asia’s TikTok Community
Introduction In a GNET Insight from November 2023, Jonathan Sarwono identified the presence of an extreme right TikTok community based…
Meili CriezisThe Moscow Terrorist Attack: Pro-Islamic State Narratives and their Wider Implications
Introduction On 22 March 2024, four gunmen entered Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia and carried out an attack killing…
Sajid AzizVirtual Battlegrounds: Understanding the Online Campaign of Baloch Separatist Groups in Pakistan
Background Heavy breathing fills the audio as the head-mounted camera captures a gun, apparently an M203 Under-Barrel Grenade Launcher, its…
Kris McGuffiePreventing Extremist Violence Using Existing Content Moderation Tools
Kris McGuffie is a member of the Extremism and Gaming Research Network (EGRN). The EGRN works together to uncover how…
Ella BuschThe Deepfake Threat to the 2024 US Presidential Election
Introduction As the 2024 US election campaign ramps up, artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes are already having a corrosive effect…
Amin MekacherPreparing for the Boogaloo: How Far-Right Communities Rallied on Discord for the Unite the Right Rally
Introduction In August 2017, Charlottesville, Virginia, had its streets swarmed by white nationalists, klansmen and far-right militia in a demonstration…
Yosua PradityaThe COVID-19 Pandemic Exploited by Extremists: A Comparative Analysis of Indonesia and Germany
Introduction COVID-19 social restrictions provided fertile ground for extremists around the world. During lockdown, as people spent significantly more time…
Joshua Bowes‘It’s Over! White People are Finished’: Accelerationist Memes using Generative AI on 4chan’s ‘/pol‘
Content Warning: this Insight contains antisemitic, racist and hateful imagery and language. Introduction Contemporary research on the use of the…
Paola TestaCLASSIFIED 1948/2024: What Israeli AI Implementation Teaches Us About the Warfare of Tomorrow
Introduction Israel has become one of the most technologically advanced and AI-driven countries in the world almost 76 years after…
Esteban Villa-TurekCombating Online Extremism in the Global South: Lessons from COVID-19 Misinformation Flows
Introduction Understanding the mechanisms driving the diffusion of problematic information – information that is “inaccurate, misleading, inappropriately attributed, or altogether…
Elyse Willemsen‘Doing What God Designed Men To Do’: Red Pilled Christians’ Quest for Patriarchy, According to Scripture
Introduction The Red Pill philosophy is the foundation for many online, misogynist, male-only groups, colloquially known as the manosphere. The…
Jake Okechukwu EffoduhThe Role and Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Extremist Fuelled Election Misinformation in Africa
Background The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era of technological possibilities, transforming industries and societies…
Mariana RibeiroThe Ultimate Game: What We Learned from Mobilising Gamers During Brazil’s Elections
Mari Ribeiro and Court Williams are members of the Extremism and Gaming Research Network (EGRN). The EGRN works together to…
Beatriz Buarque‘Why Not Bring Weapons to School?’: How TikTok’s Algorithms Contribute to a Culture of Violence in Brazilian Schools
Content warning: This Insight contains language describing graphic violence Until 2002, there was no record of violent attacks in Brazilian…
Manfredi PozzoliPOV: Wearable Cameras and the Gamification of Lone-Actor Terrorist Violence
Introduction In December 2023, a British 22-year-old was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years in prison for planning a…
Nicolò Miotto‘Stand Against the Wiles of the Devil’: Interpreting QAnon as a Pseudo-Christian Extremist Movement
Introduction Since the emergence of QAnon as a conspiracy theory in 2017, some self-proclaimed QAnon adherents have committed violent extremist…
Federico BorgonovoWeapons of Mass Hate Dissemination: The Use of Artificial Intelligence by Right-Wing Extremists
Content Warning: this Insight contains antisemitic, racist, and hateful imagery and language. Introduction On Telegram, there is a right-wing extremist…
AnadiTech Triumphs or Terrors: The Implications of Emerging Technologies on Bioterrorism
Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic served as a stark reminder of the profound impact that biological threats can have on global…
Daniel SiegelAI Jihad: Deciphering Hamas, Al-Qaeda and Islamic State’s Generative AI Digital Arsenal
Note: This Insight is a preliminary exploration and forms part of a broader research paper currently in development. The full…
Achi MishraA Deadly Trifecta: Disinformation Networks, AI Memetic Warfare, and Deepfakes
Content Warning: The following article includes disturbing and offensive AI-generated images. Introduction Generative AI technologies are rapidly advancing and transforming…
Uday BakhshiIndonesia’s Troubled Democracy: Navigating Disinformation and Extremism During Elections
Introduction On 14 February, Indonesia will host the world’s largest single-day elections as nearly 205 million voters and 250,000 candidates…
Benjamin MokIndonesian Terrorists’ Attempts to Interfere with the 2024 Indonesian Election
Introduction Indonesian terrorist organisations have weakened significantly in the past five years. Due to the mass arrest of terrorist suspects…
Elizabeth D. KilmerGrooming for Violence: Similarities Between Radicalisation and Grooming Processes in Gaming Spaces
Rachel Kowert and Elizabeth D. Kilmer are members of the Extremism and Gaming Research Network (EGRN). The EGRN works together…
Meili CriezisAI Caliphate: The Creation of Pro-Islamic State Propaganda Using Generative AI
Introduction Research continues to study how terrorist organisations exploit, or could potentially exploit, artificial intelligence (AI) for recruitment, propagandising, online…
Adam RoussellePakistan Under Threat: Why ISKP’s Online Campaign Against Pakistan is a Global Concern
Introduction The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has increasingly focused on Pakistan in its online propaganda campaigns in recent months.…
Joshua BowesTelegram’s Role in Amplifying Tehreek-e-Taliban’s Umar Media Propaganda and Sympathiser Outreach
Introduction Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is an Islamist terrorist group that operates under the umbrella of the Afghan Taliban (AT) along…
Dr. Ryan ScrivensData Collection in Online Terrorism and Extremism Research: Future Directions
Introduction The role of the Internet in facilitating violent extremism and terrorism is a primary concern for many researchers, practitioners,…
Liram Koblentz-StenzlerNavigating Far-Right Extremism in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
In today’s digital age, as artificial intelligence (AI) technologies become ever more integral to our everyday lives, understanding the conversations…
Jaynisha PatelHarnessing Peacetech for Socio-Political Resilience in Benin
Introduction In May 2019, Benin suffered its first major incursion by violent Islamist extremists –likely linked to the quickly expanding…
Marc-André Argentino764: The Intersection of Terrorism, Violent Extremism, and Child Sexual Exploitation
Content warning: this Insight contains references to child sexual exploitation and violence Introduction On 12 September 2023, the FBI made…
Peter SmithThe Midgård Leak: Exposing The Global Business Of The Far Right
Introduction On 4 December 2023, a new website by a group of Stockholm-based antifascist activists went live. Serving the single…
Fredrick OgengaKenya’s Twin Burden: Balancing the Security of Tech Infrastructure Against its Role in Online Extremism
Introduction While terrorists commonly exploit online platforms for radicalisation, planning, fundraising, organising, and even executing attacks, a puzzling emerging trend…
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